Twitter's blue bird gets 'bird in flight' logo make-over

Twitter’s iconic blue bird, known as "Larry" just got a new makeover, the social media powerhouse announced Wednesday. Did the bird's girth get super-sized?

The new Twitter bird updates the old blue bird, "Larry", named after NBA Hall-of-Famer Larry Bird. "Starting today you'll begin to notice a simplified Twitter bird," wrote Doug Bowman, the company’s creative director in a post called, "Taking flight: #Twitterbird" on Twitter's blog.

"From now on, this bird will be the universally recognizable symbol of Twitter. (Twitter is the bird, the bird is Twitter.) There's no longer a need for text, bubbled typefaces, or a lowercase 't' to represent Twitter."

Mashable says it's the third time in the company's six year existence that the bird has gone under the knife.

The evolution of the bird "grows out of love for ornithology," which the Ornithological Council notes, is the scientific study of birds.

Ornithologists study every aspect of bird life. Some ornithologists look at how birds live in their environment, while others look at how the parts of birds work together to make a bird.

It's no wonder that Bowman explains the new bird is "crafted purely from three sets of overlapping circles — similar to how your networks, interests and ideas connect and intersect with peers and friends."

“Whether soaring high above the earth to take in a broad view, or flocking with other birds to achieve a common purpose, a bird in flight is the ultimate representation of freedom, hope and limitless possibility,” he adds.

Reactions

One of the most common reactions to the change had to do with the bird's girth. CNN noted that the refreshed bird was "less chubby" than its predecessor. The LA Times similarly said the new bird "appears to be slimmer."

But the web siteGizmodo was a little more blunt, saying the new bird looks more like a "soaring dolphin than a buoyed whale," later adding: "RIP fat Twitter."

But others, like Mashable user Angela Olsen liked the new bird's geometry, "the clean lines and the sense of optimism implied by the upturned wings...Nice."

Some likened this sense of optimism to what Bloomberg says is a rumored $1 billion in sales for Twitter expected in 2014. “It’s fitting that the Twitter bird is looking skyward and has a new professional haircut,” TechCrunch said .

About Twitter

Twitter, which allows its members in real-time to read, write and share messages of up to 140 characters, claims to have more than 140 million active users, with over a billion Tweets sent every three days.

According to AFP, a recent survey found one out of seven Americans who go online use Twitter and eight percent do it every day.